At Philadelphia Museum, Outsiders Become Insiders

By

Ellen Gamerman

July 30, 2011

When self-taught artist George Widener was homeless for a while in Austin, Texas, in the 1980s, Taco Bell napkins were his medium of choice. He liked the texture and color of the paper for his intricate works featuring calendars, ships and numbers. And it didn't hurt that the napkins were free.

This month, the Philadelphia Museum of Art announced a major donation of roughly 190 works by 27 such "outsider artists"—people without professional training or commercial backing who, despite struggles with poverty,...